World Briefs

November 24, 2006

PRO GOLF

Wie struggles with 81 in opening round

Michelle Wie was hoping to make the cut at a men's event for the second time in 12 tries. Instead, she heads into the second round hoping to stay out of the cellar. Wie shot a 9-over 81 on Thursday in the first round of the Casio World Open in Kochi, Japan, a full 15 shots behind the leaders and in 101st place. That put her two strokes ahead of last-place Tomomichi Oto. "I don't think it was pressure," Wie said. "My first couple of drives went left and it was tough to get my rhythm back after that." Wie, who had nine bogeys, is making her second appearance in the Japanese tour event. Last year, she bogeyed the final two holes in the second round to miss the cut by a stroke in her first appearance in Japan. Japan's Azuma Yano and compatriot Tetsuhara Haraguchi were tied for the lead with India's Jeev Milkha Singh after all three shot 6-under 66. The 17-year-old star's troubles started early on the Kuroshio Country Club course. After teeing off in light rain on No. 10, she bogeyed the par-4 12th hole and had four straight bogeys starting with the par-3 14th. Despite failing to make a single birdie, Wie said she wasn't too concerned about her game. "I don't think I was playing that bad," she said. "My long game put a lot of pressure on my short game. I have to get my confidence back on my drive and just hit the ball the way I always do and I'll be fine." Wie has made the cut in one of her 11 starts on men's tours, in May in the Asian Tour's SK Telecom Open in South Korea. Scotland's Colin Montgomerie withdrew from the event, citing personal reasons. BOXING

Harrison thinks jail stint will help bid

London's Scott Harrison believes his stint in a Spanish jail will help him retain his WBO featherweight title next month. Harrison, released on Nov. 13 after 5 1/2 weeks behind bars in Malaga, Spain, for an alleged assault, is scheduled to fight Nicky Cook on Dec. 9 in London. "The food wasn't very good in prison. I was eating two meals a day and my weight's come down," Harrison said Thursday, speaking publicly for the first time since his release on bail. "The boys in the jail made a skipping rope for me and some weights as well and I was also able to do some push-ups." The Scottish fighter, who has a history of depression and alcohol problems, also said his time in jail gave him discipline. "It was difficult being in prison for 5 1/2 weeks but I was training three times a day," Harrison said. "A lot of circuit training, a lot of running around the prison yard and I was watching my diet." Harrison was arrested in southern Spain on Oct. 6 while training for the fight. He was released after he paid $36,000 bail. Harrison was cleared to fight Cook after passing a medical test on Tuesday. He has been sparring with Willie Limond since returning from Spain. "I will be ready on the night," Harrison said. "I'm always mentally right to fight. I'm a fighter. That's the reality. I'm out of prison. I've resumed training and everything's all right with me." The WBO has said that Harrison will be stripped of the title if he gets in any further trouble. In February, Harrison will face two court cases in Glasgow involving a number of charges, including assault. BASKETBALL

Former Globetrotter Sandy dies in crash

Chris Sandy, a former Fresno State and Harlem Globetrotters player, died Thursday in a car accident in southeastern Finland, police said. He was 27. Sandy, from New York, lost control of his car and collided with another vehicle going in the opposite direction, Helsinki police said. Sandy, in his first season in Europe, played for one of the top Finnish teams, Kouvot of Kouvola. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 18 points and was third in the league with 3.9 assists per game. RUNNING

Olympic champ Noah Ngeny retires

Noah Ngeny, who upset Hicham El Guerrouj to win the 1,500-meter gold medal at the Sydney Olympics, retired because of recurring back and pelvis problems from 2001 car accident in Kenya. "The last few years have been frustrating," he said. "I have spent more time on the physiotherapy table than in my spikes." The 28-year-old Kenyan has not competed much since the crash and failed to qualify for the 2004 Athens Olympics, where El Guerrouj of Morocco won the 1,500 and 5,000. At the 2000 Sydney Games, Ngeny overtook El Guerrouj in the final meters to win the 1,500 in an Olympic record time of 3 minutes, 32.07 seconds. El Guerrouj was left sobbing on the track. Ngeny had pushed El Guerrouj in a half-dozen other races, but had never beaten him until then. "The Olympic gold medal was definitely the highlight of my running career," Ngeny said. In 1999, Ngeny broke Sebastian Coe's 18-year-old world record in the rarely run 1,000 meters in Rieti, Italy. His time of 2:11.96 still stands.